Apr 20, 2008

The truth about cancer

Why are people still dying from cancer?

That's the question Linda is asking. She's returning to the Boston hospitals where her husband Larry (who died from lung cancer) received his care. It follows patients like Jamie, who's fighting metastatic pancreatic cancer who receives some bad news or Vinay, a medical student with leukemia. Following their stories makes cancer personal, even to those who are lucky enough to never have experienced cancer. They make you care and hopefully think about cancer and ultimately get involved in the fight against cancer (I hope).

One of the oncologists mentions Lance Armstrong and the fact that people now believe that if they fight hard enough and be strong enough, they could beat metastatic cancer. And that those people wouldn't understand that Lance Armstrong "won the lottery".

Not everyone will survive, but that's exactly the point. We need people who inspire us, people who beat the odds, who are still with us even though their prognosis wasn't very optimistic. And we need to tell other people about those inspirations, educate people about early detection and self-exams. Most of all, we need to talk about cancer, bring cancer to the news, and get more people involved in fight against cancer.

The easiest way is to donate as little as $5 to a cancer foundation, talk to your friends/families/co-workers/neighbors, etc. about cancer, visit cancer patients in your community and offer them a smile or some cheering up- or just the chance to talk. There are numerous ways to get involved and pick your fight with cancer. Every little step helps, so please consider donating some of your money or some of your time and make a difference.

As Melissa Sileo from the LAF staff wrote on the Livestrong Blog: "Although watching this film won’t cure cancer, it has the possibility of reaching more people, educating more people and inspiring more people to become invested in the war against cancer."

Metastatic cancer doesn't stop- it spreads and spreads and spreads... and that's exactly what we need to do- spread the knowledge about cancer- spread and spread and spread....